blue light, sleep tight
Moodboard made by @starkerkitty and AO3 link here for @khalixascorner's birthday
Pairings: Peter Parker and Tony Stark
Tags: Omegaverse, irondad, platonic
Warnings: None
It felt like a fucking Lifetime movie.
There was a storm raging outside and the little boy – his little pup – was sitting on a hard plastic chair crying and clutching a stuffed Hulk toy like a lifeline.
Little Peter Parker smelled like he was fresh from a war documentary, distressed and begging for his mom to scent him and scream it’s going to be okay until it was.
It wasn’t though.
Mary wouldn’t be returning from the car crash, Richard would never hug him again, and Tony was all the pup had.
It felt like he’d forgotten how his signature was supposed to look for a second. He wanted to run away screaming and drown himself in a bottle.
The drunken night he’d spent with Mary was one he barely remembered. She’d been trying to convince him to fund something and he’d been horny enough to indulge.
The following day, the check he’d jokingly written was gone and the sheets were cold.
Now there were paternity tests and custody papers. His lawyers were all stiff and the social worker was practically shitting herself from nerves.
“Alright, Pete. Dinner and a movie tonight sound good?” The poor thing didn’t even look up from his shoes. Lifting him onto his hip was easy enough. Peter just pressed his face into his neck and took in greedy lungfuls.
A dark part of Tony hoped that he smelled better to the boy than any of his beta parents had. If he was going to do this then he’d damn sure be the best at it.
So much was running through his head, protective instincts raging at him that this pup needed food and comfort and to be scented and a nest and–
Peter screamed the entire car ride. Tony couldn’t console him with soft shakes of his leg or the song his favorite nanny sang to him. The pup just wailed into his neck in a wordless cry for help that he couldn’t express any other way.
It didn’t stop until Peter ran out of energy and fell asleep in the car. Traffic was characteristically bad for a Friday night getting into Manhattan. It meant that his arm fell asleep halfway through what was only supposed to be a half-hour drive.
Each time Tony tried to put him down, Peter started grumbling. It left him awkwardly half-slouching with Peter almost hanging between his thighs.
Putting him down once they got inside didn’t seem to be an option either. Peter started with those I’ll cry and you’ll regret it noises, so they wound up clutching each other on the sofa.
He fell asleep like that, distantly vowing that they’d have a better morning.
Then Peter woke both of them by peeing on his lap.
Red puffy eyes were already tearing up again. Tony’s soft “I’ll get you clean, I’ll get you clean,” was more for himself than the boy. Stripping him down was weird but necessary. It was like he was intruding on Peter and he had no clue how he’d wash him without feeling like a pedophile.
To make things worse, he was flailing so hard that Tony was scared he’d grab him too tightly and leave bruises.
“Pete– okay, you gotta get– fuck it” getting dropped in the warm water JARVIS had filled the tub with shocked Peter into silence.
Splashing water gently on his face made him laugh. It was a quiet, perfect little sound that Tony wanted to hear for the rest of his life.
“I got you something for next time, you’ll like it. We’re gonna be alright Petey. I promise.”
~~~~
Life continued on like that for some time.
Peter would wake up crying because of a wet pull-up, cling to him like a second skin, and only eat small bits of food at a time. Usually, he’d fall asleep curled up against Tony with his face pressed to his neck. It didn’t leave him with much time for anything else but he’d have JARVIS read some parenting books to him.
He had no fucking clue what to do.
Sometimes, he’d see little bits of personality shine through. Peter would request that they watch Star Wars or insist on a certain shape of waffles. It grew more frequent as the weeks passed.
Even with JARVIS as a filter, there was too much shitty information on raising omegas. Most people suggest he brush the crying and clinginess off as omega hysterics, a few called him a pervert for wanting to parent an omega alone.
Finding him a reputable therapist was the best decision he’d made.
Peter started sleeping in his own bed during his after lunch naps, and once Tony figured out how to do it, he’d always let out a low rumble in response to Peter’s whines. He even started speaking better, something the therapist said had probably been stunted by the sudden trauma.
The others were all surprisingly understanding when it came to him. It wasn’t recommended that he spend too long with adults just yet – even with the team’s half-formed pack bonds – the two of them needed to form a proper scent bond first. So, they’d been keeping their distance and sending up lightly scented toys or blankets.
His only issue now was that he was going crazy.
Bringing Peter to the lab wasn’t an option because the boy liked to touch everything he saw, and Peter would wake up every time Tony moved in his sleep too much.
That part might be even weirder.
He hadn’t shared a bed with someone for more than a few nights in a row without being drunk since Pepper, and even that hadn’t lasted so long.
There were smaller things he was starting to miss too, like shitting without Peter trying to crawl into his lap or spending a day without toddler spit on him.
Putting Peter in a high chair and sticking to finger foods worked a little.
“Peter fries are food not–” a french fry to the face interrupted him and made him rethink his fondness for Peter’s high chair.
“You eat”
“I am, I have my own fries and I don’t want you to throw yours at me. Would you like it if I threw mine at you?”
And really, Tony should have known better than to question his kid like that. Peter just nodded so hard that it must have hurt his head.
He wouldn’t admit to throwing a french fry at his toddler, but he’d admit that good moments like this helped him feel a little less crazy.
Enough food made its way into Peter’s mouth to satisfy Tony. The dreaded appearance of baby wipes took the smile off his face, but Tony managed to give them both a good enough wipe-down.
After watching Bluey and drinking a cup of apple juice on the couch, Peter was tired enough that Tony put him in his own bed for the first time.
There’d been more smiles than tears recently, so he hoped that they’d have progress on that front.
~~~~
Peter liked his new friend Tony. He smelled good and Peter didn’t need a night light when they cuddled at night. He also looked a lot like Iron Man.
Waking up by himself in a small bed was weird. There was a small night light in the corner, but it was yellow instead of the blue he’d gotten used to.
“Jay?” He whispered, trying to get the attention of his other new friend.
“Yes, Peter? Would you like me to wake up Mr. Stark?”
Peter picked at a thread on his blanket, not sure what to say. Tony was always saying that Peter needed to sleep, but he wasn’t sure if that meant Tony needed to sleep or not too.
He’d been told that he’d be seeing Tony’s friends from downstairs in the morning though, so he guessed it was already time for that since he was awake.
“Tony’s friends?”
JARVIS took a second to answer before telling him that two of Tony’s friends from downstairs were awake and instructing him to get into the elevator.
When he got there, two big guys were waiting for him. He couldn’t scent them properly without getting closer but the blond one smelled like an omega and the one with the shiny arm smelled like an alpha.
The blond one that looked kinda like Captain America came toward him first. He knelt in front of Peter and held his hands out so Peter could see they were empty.
“Hi Peter, my name’s Steve. Is your dad asleep upstairs?”
Peter felt his eyebrows draw together. The last time he’d seen his daddy was when he and mommy were in those weird bed things, so why would he be upstairs? Was Steve asking about his friend Tony?
“My friend Tony?”
“Yeah, is he asleep?” Peter just blinked at him. Of course Tony was asleep, he always slept at night time.
“I’m hungry, do you have french fries?”
Steve blinked at him and smelled a little surprised, “I’m sure Buck can make you some, let’s have a seat over here.”
He was led to a breakfast bar like the one Tony had upstairs and Steve picked him up to seat him at one of the tall chairs.
The alpha with the shiny arm started pulling some things out of the fridge and began cooking. Peter was watching the way that the window light seemed to make his arm look even shinier.
He wondered if he’d be able to make magnets stick to his arm. It looked like a fridge, and you could stick magnets on those.
“Steve,” he whispered to his new friend, leaning closer so he’d hear, “I could put magnets on him?”
“Do you have any magnets now?” Steve whispered back, looking between him and the alpha.
Peter shook his head, he hadn’t had any magnets since he’d come to Tony’s house.
“I’ll get some magnets for you tomorrow and you ask him if you can put them on him. That sound like a good plan to you?” Peter nodded his head and Steve walked away to get him water.
The cup Steve got him was heavy and the water kept spilling on his lap, but no one seemed to mind.
When his french fries were done cooking, the man with the shiny arm introduced himself as Bucky. Neither of his new friends ate with him, but they all talked while he ate.
By the time that Tony got there, looking like he’d just
“Holy shit Pete, why’d you leave?”
“Woke up,” he explained before swallowing.
“Well, why’d you wake up? Is there something wrong with your bed?”
Peter nodded as he reached for the heavy glass of water.
“Is it not comfortable?”
“I like the blue light,” he turned to Steve, “can I have more water please?”
Steve went to refill his water while Bucky laughed at Tony. After Bucky stopped laughing, the adults started talking. He kept quiet, used to adults talking around him, and leaned into Tony while he finished his water. Bucky and Steve both smelled nice but Tony’s scent was his favorite.
He fell asleep while they were still talking, only waking up a bit to notice Tony putting him down in the big bed.
Tony held him tight against the bright blue nightlight in his chest until Peter fell back to sleep.
~~~~
Peter was progressing beautifully. He got piggyback rides from Clint, mani-pedis with Nat, and put magnets on Bucky’s arm. There was a rambunctiousness to him that shone in the way he’d run and shriek with laughter every time Bucky pretended to chase him or in the way he jumped onto the sofas before bath time.
There was also something else there, some kind of spark that Tony couldn’t identify. He saw it when he and Bruce did dumbed-down experiments with Peter, or when he let the pup touch the suits.
The therapist was urging him to start sending Peter to school, but Tony selfishly wanted to keep him at home a little longer. He didn’t seem to miss pre-k 3 and Tony took it as a sign that pre-k four was optional. Peter wouldn’t have to start school until kindergarten – and that would only be if Tony couldn’t find him a tutor. There was no need for his pup to be out in the world.
It seemed though, that the lovely therapist he’d hired was as stubborn as he was. She put her foot down on the idea of keeping him home and made Tony put him in a playgroup. It meant that Peter’s existence would need to be announced.
Pepper had a field day dealing with the PR team, but they managed to get it announced without making Tony step in.
Questions about the distant future of Stark Industries arose since omegas couldn’t inherit property above a certain value. Pepper rebuffed them on his behalf and the lawyers drafted NDAs for the parents and nannies of Peter’s future playmates.
Tony had to sign a few himself since the other children were also pretty high profile.
Peter was predictably excited, but most of the adults there were nannies and Tony was the only alpha.
Also, Johnny Storm’s kid kept melting the legos.
~~~~
In true Stark fashion, the first time Peter met Rhodey he was trying to get him into trouble.
Running away dripping wet and naked at three wasn’t quite as bad as lying in bed crying with alcohol poisoning at fifteen, but Tony appreciated the similarity.
Rhodey picked up the squirming pup with a firm grip around his ribs and Tony wrapped him up in an appropriately themed turkey towel.
None of them put stock into Thanksgiving, which made it a good day to head upstate for a little family owned farm that was more than glad to host them.
“Peter, if you want to go get the apples and tree you have to wear clothes.”
He sighed and flopped himself backward into Tony, making both alphas scramble to keep a good hold on him. It was probably too early to bathe him but baby wipes could only do so much against orange juice to the hair.
Another reminder of their plans had Peter succumbing to his fate of thick sweats and a warm sweater. Rhodey carried him to the elevator while Tony grabbed their coats.
“I’m gonna get apples from the tree,” he heard Peter proudly tell Rhodey.
The duo went back and forth excitedly. Peter was glad to have a new friend and Rhodey was eager to gently pry out every detail about him possible.
Steve had decided they weren’t allowed to take the easy way out and fly upstate. They packed themselves into cars aside from Bucky and Steve who were taking the pickup he’d gotten just for this.
Peter was stuffed into his car seat and given one of his newer stuffed toys.
They had a four hour drive ahead of them, made quicker by Peter’s excited narrations of the scenery.
An hour or so in, Peter’s words had longer pauses between them. He fell asleep while explaining how trees lived in the forest with bears and wolves.
They pitched their voices lower once they noticed, both unwilling to have a cranky toddler on their hands.
He didn’t sleep long. Just after they’d gotten over the Bronx border, Peter woke up demanding juice.
Passing a juice box back between the seats felt more natural than he’d have thought it would. When it came to Peter things had fallen into place so innately that Tony didn’t want to imagine what he’d be doing without him. Instinct wasn’t his guiding factor anymore. They had gotten to know each other well enough that Peter hardly ever looked unsteady around him anymore.
Miraculously, Peter didn’t squeeze it too hard and send juice everywhere. He drank slowly while looking at the scenery.
Five or so minutes later when they were ten minutes away from the nearest rest stop Peter started squirming in his seat and quietly let them know that he wasn’t able to hold his pee.
Tony had to pull over and Rhodey suggested that they open both the passenger door and Peter’s door so they’d have more cover.
Everyone passing would know what was happening but they were more concerned with someone trying to get a peep at little Stark’s crotch.
“Not the grass, the potty.” His pup was pouting, looking disdainfully at the patchy grass before him.
“You said you had to go now, and you’re not wearing a pull-up. Gotta use the grass, Pete.”
Peter huffed in indignation but eventually pulled down his bottoms. Tony had to help him aim, and Rhodey pretended he wasn’t laughing for Peter’s sake.
Baby wipes were passed around again and they were all packed back into the car.
Peter went back to sleep and slept until Tony had to gently tug him out of his car seat.
The mid-morning sun was mercifully warm enough for Peter to run between rows of apple trees. Someone had come to clean the rotting ones off the floor before they’d arrived.
Cutting down one of the huge Christmas trees would be last on their list.
They took turns helping Peter reach the branches where the apples hung. Bucky put him on his shoulders and walked around slowly. Peter would fist leaves in his hands rather than find apples for the most part – a lot of them ended up in Bucky’s hair.
He didn’t tire out as quickly as Tony thought he would have. He was too excited to see everything around him and touch whatever he landed his eyes on. They amassed heavy baskets full of apples and selected a tree that would barely fit in the bed of the pickup.
Above them, the sun had started to set and the air was going chilly. Peter buried his smiling face and pressed a hand tightly to Tony’s chest.
With his coat on, there was no way Peter would be able to see the reactor’s faint glow. Tony didn’t think he cared much.
